And, then I didn’t get around to picking it up until the following December.

And, then I put it down again in January and didn’t pick it up until the summer, at which point I decided that I needed to read at least five pages a day in order to not take a whole year in finishing the thing. The book starts out slow. Since it is an autobiography, Mandela starts at the beginning and, maybe this makes me a terrible person but I was looking for the action, the politics, the rebellion, the prison term which you don’t get to until at least 100 pages into the book. But, as I read further I was glad to have had all of that background. First of all, because I know nothing, less than nothing, about African history or family structure, unless you count the occasional paper on kinship terms one reads in Linguistics classes. I don’t know how the tribal system works (Mandela was originally brought up and trained to be an advisor to the King) and I certainly wasn’t aware of how bad it got in South Africa before apartheid was actually ended. The government opened fire on unarmed civilians non-violently protesting. And, in later years factions of the apartheid government covertly funded organizations opposed to unity that went out and slaughtered civilians. That is horrifying. I can’t even imagine what it must have been like to live through that. And, to have been in prison for 27 years, missing the childhoods of your children, not being there to take care of your Mother before she died, not being able to go to family funerals, all because you wanted a government where every person, regardless of the color of their skin, has a vote. So, I guess the answer to the question is Nelson Mandela an amazing forgiving machine or is he a man is this: He is a man, a stubborn man, but a man who wanted the freedom that was his. But more than that, Mandela wanted freedom not just for himself but for every South African. As he says at the end of the book:

“It was during those long and lonely years that my hunger for the freedom of my own people became a hunger for the freedom of all people, white and black. I knew as well as I knew anything that the oppressor must be liberated just as surely as the oppressed. A man who takes away another man’s freedom is a prisoner of hatred, he is locked behind the bars of prejudice and narrow-mindedness.”

Freedom is something that must be protected and we must be mindful of all of the things that we do or say that can take that freedom away, from others and from ourselves. This was an amazing book and Nelson Mandela is a truly inspiring man.

Sugar, upset at the loss of her beau asks Mama Maitresse, a Voodoo priestess to help her garner the power to avenge the death of Langston. They invoke Baron Samedi, who grants her the power. She then goes on to kill every one of jerk face’s men.

Meanwhile, Valentine (Sugar’s ex-boyfriend and cop) investigates the killing of Langston and the other bodies as they begin to pile up. He finds an old slave shackle at one of the crime scenes and he begins to believe that Voodoo is somehow involved in the murders. He begins to put the pieces together while Sugar and Baron Samedi pick off jerk face’s men down to the last one.

This movie is from 1974. Even so, I was surprised by the blatant racism in the picture, for example the woman who refuses to serve a black woman. But, I suppose, given the subject matter, this whole film was a racist enterprise. I mean, it is a film about Voodoo being used for revenge, for pity’s sake. That being said, the killings and undead were AWESOME. Exactly what I expect from zombie films and that made it pretty good.

Also, Sugar is an effing genius and I love how she plays both sides and gets what she wants. So, it is a fun little film.

Andrew Bagby was murdered in 2001, possibly by his pregnant ex-girlfriend. She then flees home to Canada where through a series of administrative cock-ups allow her to roam free, give birth and raise Andrew’s child. Andrew’s parents have to sue in order to be allowed to see Andrew’s son, Zachary. They are given access, but have to interact with Andrew’s alleged killer. After being released on bail a second time, the alleged killer murders Zachary and then commits suicide.

This film is so heart breaking. And, it highlights some of the hiccups in the Canadian legal system. It is…it is all just such a tragedy. Andrew Bagby seemed liked a wonderful person who positively effected every person that he met. And, to think that the woman that may have killed him was allowed to raise his son and be in a position to also murder his son is just so shocking.

Even though this film is sad, I really recommend it. It was an interesting documentary because it allowed you to see some of the Canadian judicial system but also because it showed you a glimpse of two lives that were snuffed out way too soon.

The film’s website has more information on bail reform legislation that has been campaigned for by Andrew Bagby’s parents.

I think I like the Prue episodes much better than I like the Paige episodes. And, while I was writing this I was trying to come up with the reasons why. I think I liked the dynamic of the three sisters more in the Prue years than the Paige years. I also really enjoyed Prue’s character development as she learned to deal with her powers and share her secrets with Andy, and lead and support this trio, as she had done as an older sister without powers. Also, I think that Shannen Doherty is a little easier to look at than Rose McGowan. Not that either of them are unattractive, its just that with the dyed dark hair (which she has in a few seasons) which washes out her pale skin even further and her jutting thinness I keep expecting Rose McGowan to pass out.

So, this isn’t a life changing show and it wasn’t an amazing show. It doesn’t have dialogue I can quote (like anything made my Aaron Sorkin or Joss Whedon) but it is certainly an enjoyable little show, no matter which three sisters you’re watching.

Here’s what I mean: In the first episode they talk about marvels of ancient architecture. So, they lay out evidence and the ideas. The pyramids at Giza are incredible feats of architecture. They would have taken incredible amounts of energy and/or manpower and/or sophisticated technology to build them. (Okay, I’m with you.)We have no evidence that Ancient Egyptians had anything more advanced than a whole mess of slaves and some boats. (Fair Enough, still with you.) Therefore, aliens must have come down and helped them build the pyramids. (You’ve completely lost me.) Aren’t there better explanations than this that deserve to be explored? For example, isn’t it possible that we developed technology that was lost? Isn’t it possible that we’ve just not unearthed pulleys and levers and what not? Do we have to go all the way to aliens? Really?

Then, because I am a glutton for punishment, I read the comments on the series on Netflix. They fell into three categories: Curious people who watched the show and commented, Disbelievers who wanted to deride the history channel for wasting time and money producing this series, and my favorite category, abusive trolls who wanted to tell anyone who didn’t enjoy the show that they were blind to the evidence and needed to open their eyes and wake up. And, I just have to say that trolls aren’t good for advancing discussion, they aren’t good for the spreading of a theory and they aren’t good for science.

I’d also like to say that some of the logical leaps this show made was baffling and that I didn’t particularly enjoy it.

I have mixed feelings about this documentary that covers Latin America and some of its political leaders of the last ten years.  And, I must admit, starting off  what I disliked was probably largely to do with what I dislike about American mainstream media (of which I consume very little).  But, I learned some things and I think that is important (and the goal of documentaries).  The first thing I learned is that Hugo Chavez was elected president of Venezuela.  The second thing I learned was that chewing Coca leaves can help with altitude sickness (which would explain why they are a popular plant to cultivate if you live in the Andes mountains.)  I also learned that Evo Morales is the first indigenous person to be elected president in Bolivia.  (Which, considering that 70% of the Bolivian population is indigenous communities, that is a little sad.)  Additionally, I learned that prior to his election a law had been passed that made it illegal in Bolivia to catch rain water on your roof.

Towards the end, the show a clip of an interview with Kirchner from Argentina and he says something interesting things.  One of the things that he points out is that absolute power is bad and that you need to build collectively because one person, one country can’t solve all of the worlds problems.  And, I think that is true.

This documentary was only 77 minutes long and that is another benefit of it.  I learned some stuff and it wasn’t that long.  But, I’m still not sure how I feel about it.

Aimee is a housewife whose husband is off at the front.  She is having an affair at the beginning of the film with a high-ranking officer.  She is introduced to Jaguar by her housekeeper/nanny/Jaguar’s current girlfriend.

The story is intense.  It was also really wonderfully filmed.  I enjoyed watching it.

The film was about a young woman during World War II who becomes involved with the resistance against the Japanese in Japanese-occupied Shanghai. Wong Chia Chi and her friends from University start out as students in the theater who put on a play to raise money in Hong Kong to support the resistance back home. From there, they hatch a plot to assassinate a man, Mr. Yee, who is collaborating with the Japanese. To do this, Wong Chia Chi goes undercover as a business man’s wife and becomes Mr. Yee’s mistress in order to set up him to be assassinated.

This film was very exciting. Every time our heroine is with Mr. Yee, you’re afraid she’s going to be suspected or caught. And, the setting and costumes were divine. Every one of the Wong Chia Chi’s dresses is just gorgeous. I also enjoyed the contrasts that you saw in the film between her different lives. In one life, she is standing in a ration line forever and in another she is wearing the finest silks and being offered gems by her lover. That being said, and this is a little spoiler alert, I could have done without the first encounter with Mr. Yee/rape scene which was more than a little horrifying.

During this film, I managed to do quite a bunch of spinning. This was a bit of a surprise because of all of the drama on the screen. I made it through two balls from a sampler I want to finish this month and I also plied together one of the balls with some other wool I spun earlier in the day for a scarf I intend to make for a friend later this summer.

Merino and Tencel (50/50) from a Spinning Bunny Sampler

I enjoyed this film. Paul Newman (who is beautiful) played an excellent self-loathing drunk. And, while you knew Elizabeth Taylor’s Maggie was a bit of a gold-digger, you could also tell that she cared about Brick and in her own way also cared about his father. The brother and sister were annoying and overbearing and that made Maggie that much more likable. And, Burl Ives was amazing as Big Daddy, absolutely sure that we was going to live forever until it is made abundantly clear to him that this is just not possible. I’ve never seen the play so I can’t comment on how well it was adapted, but I found this to be an very enjoyable piece. Additionally, the costumes were a lot of fun. I really liked this film. And, in case I didn’t get across how absolutely stunning Paul Newman was as a youngster, let me say it again, Oh, the Paul Newman was a looker!